Video: Ex-UFC Champ Chuck Liddell Works to Halt Violence During Protests in California

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Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell played the role of peacemaker during protests in Southern California over the weekend.

Peaceful protests and violent riots have occurred throughout the United States after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd by placing his knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest last week. That includes Huntington Beach, California, where in a video posted by Los Angeles station ABC7, Liddell can be seen stepping in to break up a confrontation between two groups of people.

Liddell is from Santa Barbara but is staying in Huntington Beach while his home is being remodeled. “The Iceman” attended high school in Santa Barbara and wrestled collegiately at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo, California.

“It’s good to see people defending their city,” Liddell said. “It’s terrible. Violence begets violence. Violence doesn’t help anybody. We all know what happened was wrong. Everybody I know thinks it was wrong. It’s hard to watch.

“This doesn’t help it. Destroying cities, destroying people, hurting people does not do any good for anybody. Hey, protest all you want. Just do it peacefully.”

Liddell is the second prominent fighter to lend a helping hand in his region. On Sunday night, Jon Jones confronted vandals and confiscated their cans of spray paint during protests in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico.